Not long after stepping into the cave, Cyan encountered numerous faint purple lights drifting in the air.
"Low-tier lightning spirits…"
"They're not attacking—just as I thought. Someone with an affinity for lightning like me wouldn't be targeted so easily."
The spirits quickly gathered around him.
"…Looks like they're treating me like a nest."
After walking a bit further, Cyan spotted two wolves baring their fangs as they approached.
"Mudclaws… quite rare, even for someone with my experience."
"Still, they're weak. Earth-type monsters—but they can't withstand even a mid-tier spell. Though lightning might take a bit longer to finish them off."
"…Still, I should conserve mana."
With that in mind, Cyan picked up an old pickaxe lying nearby.
"This should be enough."
The two wolves lunged at him.
Cyan immediately sidestepped to the right and swung the pickaxe into the belly of the closer one.
—Slash!
The second wolf rushed in.
As it leapt, Cyan brought the pickaxe down in a vertical strike, then followed with a horizontal cut across its body.
—Slash… Whoosh!
The wolf collapsed instantly.
"Even this six-year-old body can pull that off… heh."
Before he could celebrate, a howl echoed through the cave.
—Awooo!
"…What? The first one's still alive?"
Immediately, heavy footsteps began to reverberate throughout the cavern.
—Thump… Thump…
A pack of nearly fifty Mudclaws appeared before him.
"Tch… I need to get out of here. There's no way I can fight an entire pack with this little mana."
Cyan quickly scanned his surroundings.
"Besides the entrance… there's only one path without monsters."
Without hesitation, he began moving—almost like a frog, leaping forward with both legs close together. The pack gave chase.
"Good thing these creatures are slow… otherwise I'd be done for."
"…But I'm practically lost now. No idea where that adamantite mass is."
"…Instead of wandering blindly…"
"…I should send a current into the ground—use it like a radar."
The moment he released a pulse of lightning energy, it was violently pulled in a single direction.
Cyan's arm suddenly went numb. His electricity felt as if it had been completely devoured.
He repeated the process several times, following the direction of the pull, until he reached a rock wall where every current he released vanished without a trace.
"…This is it."
"It has to be behind this wall."
Cyan immediately cast a mid-tier spell and shattered the rock.
Beyond it—
A dense surge of lightning energy burst forth, revealing a pitch-black mass overflowing with mana.
"…Incredible."
"So this is what's causing the anomalies in the mine…"
"If I had to compare… it's on par with Konan—even when he was suppressing his mana."
"This lightning seed… at the very least, it's high-tier."
——— Mana +100 effect has ended ———
"…What?! Now of all times?! I don't even have enough mana left for a mid-tier spell!"
Before he could react—
A bolt of lightning struck him directly.
Cyan raised his arm to shield his heart, but still took the full force.
Another bolt came crashing down onto his head.
——— WARNING: HP below 10% ———
——— WARNING: HP below 10% ———
The system alerts rang out repeatedly.
"…Damn it…"
"I barely have enough mana left to resist…"
"…Am I really going to die like this?"
Cyan stood there, barely conscious, like a statue on the verge of collapse. His mind raced, searching desperately for even the slightest chance of survival.
If only I had bonded with a basic lightning spirit earlier… I could've escaped…
—Why do you struggle so desperately?
A voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
—Do you not feel powerless before me, little one?
"…What was that?"
"A voice… inside my head?"
"…That lightning spirit?"
Staring at the blue glow ahead, Cyan analyzed:
Either I'm hallucinating before death…
Or this spirit is actually communicating with me.
—I simply wish to change my fate.
Whether the spirit had seen Cyan's past life, or sensed the relentless effort he had endured, a powerful surge of lightning energy erupted from the lightning seed.
—Very well. I accept you.
Cyan's eyes widened.
"…R-Really?"
"What is happening…?"
"…Why is this so easy?"
"…Damn it… am I really hallucinating just to cling to hope?"
But as if to erase all doubt, the lightning energy moved toward him.
A system message appeared before his eyes:
——— Nether Azure Lightning requests to merge with your core. Accept? ———
"…This is real?"
——— Nether Azure Lightning requests to merge with your core. Accept? ———
"If that's the case—!"
"Yes! Of course I accept!"
A powerful stream of energy surged into Cyan's body.
But at that exact moment, his mana hit zero.
He collapsed to the ground.
"…So this is the end…"
His consciousness began to fade.
——— Congratulations. Cyan Velton has obtained his first spirit ———
Additional information appeared:
———— Nether Azure Lightning ————
Current Rank: Saint-tier
→ Doubles lightning damage output
→ Increases existing resistances by 1.5x
Slightly increases affinity with water and wind spirits
Allows casting one lightning spell of equal rank without mana cost (Maximum once a week)
Rare Trait: Grows alongside its owner
—————————
A surge of mana flooded back into Cyan's core.
His consciousness snapped back.
He forced himself to stand.
Around him, the low-tier lightning spirits danced, illuminating the cave in a breathtaking display.
"…Amazing."
"But this… is even better than I expected."
"Saint-tier… is this actually real?"
"I thought it'd be high-tier at best… and yet I took two direct hits and survived. That alone doesn't make sense."
"…But this is beyond what I imagined."
"Every single effect… perfect."
"It even grows with me… reaching divine-tier in the future might not be impossible."
"…But increased attraction to water and wind spirits?"
"What does that have to do with lightning…"
"…I'll figure that out later."
"For now—there's something else I need to deal with."
Cyan slowly turned, his gaze locking onto a deeper part of the cave.